Big Step

Katie and I have decided to make a major step as we look towards building a family. On Tuesday evening, we attended an informational meeting at Bethany Christian Services to explore adoption opportunities. BCS has been around for quite some time, and the office in Indiana seems like a quality place. Their primary concern is for the women who find themselves in crisis situations, and people like us serve as a resource for those women who decide to give up their child for adoption. Perhaps that is what attracted us most to BCS. They aren’t just looking to place the children, they are caring for the mothers and their family as well.

Of course, one of the major hurdles that we will have to face in the process is the financial hurdle. You may be hearing more in the future from Katie and I as we attempt to raise the funds. It will probably cost between $25,000-$30,000. Yes, our insurance does have some provisions for adoption, but we have to come up with quite a chunk of money in the first place to get the process started. We’re planning on having a yard sale next week, and we decided that whatever money we make from that is going to start going to our adoption fund.

At the meeting the other night, we heard about both domestic and international adoptions. For our situation, I think we’re definitely leaning towards domestic. Some of the rules that other countries have for adoption are crazy! Some say you have to have a certain amount of income and net worth. Others have stipulations on your Body Mass Index. Seriously crazy stuff. Add all that to the fact that neither one of us really likes to fly (international adoption will require at least two trips overseas), and that some countries can take years to approve the adoption (and have a crap load of paperwork along the way), and we really feel like a domestic option is the way to go.

As far as our attempt to have children of our own, it’s not really getting put on hold or anything. In fact, we’ve been meeting with a fertility specialist to try to figure out what has been going on, and we may have a little more information later in the day. But the truth is, one doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with another. We started talking about adoption before we were having problems sustaining a pregnancy. God has really laid it on our hearts to explore this way of starting a family, and we’ll see what happens.

One way or another, we’re moving forward. We believe God has some wonderful things in store for us, and are eagerly awaiting the next big step in our lives.